Rangers’ Igor Shesterkin in uncharted territory after Game 3 benching

PITTSBURGH — The chants of, “Igor … Igor … Igor,” reverberated throughout the building before the puck had been dropped on Game 3. But this was not the Garden and Igor Shesterkin was hardly receiving a tribute from the crowd that packed the Penguins’ arena here on Saturday.

Instead, the chant was delivered in a mocking singsong manner. You know, like the “Hex-tall … Hex-tall … Hex-tall,” one aimed for years at Garden foil Ron Hextall, who happens to be the Penguins’ current general manager. Or like the “Dar-ryl … Dar-ryl … Dar-ryl,” rolling chant targeting Darryl Strawberry at Fenway during the 1986 World Series.

Like that.

The chorus grew louder when the Penguins scored at 1:57. It persisted through the first period in which Pittsburgh built a 4-1 lead before the sing-a-long came to a rather abrupt end when the netminder was pulled in favor of Alex Georgiev at the start of the second.

This was a first for Shesterkin, pulled in his third official playoff start after having sparkled through the opening two-game split in New York. Why, Henrik Lundqvist wasn’t pulled until his 28th playoff start in the (Water Bottle) fifth game of the 2009 first round in Washington.

Of course, Lundqvist had actually been benched by then-coach Tom Renney for Game 2 of the 2006 first round against the Devils, backing up Kevin Weekes after allowing six goals (five on the power play) in a 6-1 Game 1 defeat at the Meadowlands in the first NHL playoff contest of The King’s career.

Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin was pulled during the Game 3 loss to the Penguins. Getty Images

No, head coach Gerard Gallant was not contemplating going with Georgiev, who surrendered one goal on 20 shots in 38:57 of relief work but was hung with the 7-4 defeat because the Rangers had come back to tie at 4-4 and thus got Shesterkin off the hook as the goaltender of record.

“We know he’s going to bounce back,” Gallant said of Shesterkin. “I expect him to be outstanding. It’s a one-off for me.

“Stuff happens like that. And again, nobody’s blaming him. Our team was dominated in the first period, so it’s nothing on Igor.”

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Here’s one that is almost impossible to believe. Saturday’s match marked the sixth straight time the Rangers have lost a playoff game in which they had wiped out a three-goal deficit. It’s true. The streak tracks back to 1982 and the third game of the best-of-five first round against the Flyers in which the Blueshirts came back from down 3-0 to win 4-3 on Cam Connor’s winner at 18:51 of the third period.

The defeats in the interim feature the potential Cup-clinching Game 5 at home against the Canucks in 1994 in which the Blueshirts rallied from 3-0 to tie before losing 6-3. There was Game 5 of the 2012 conference finals against the Devils at the Garden in which 3-0 against turned into 3-all that turned into a 5-3 loss.

There was the potential clinching Game 5 of the 2014 conference finals in Montreal in which the Blueshirts fell behind 4-1, and tied it at 4-4 before the Habs won it 7-4 to send the series back to New York. That one seemed to have some parallels to Saturday night’s match here, for those Rangers rallied after Cam Talbot had replaced Lundqvist at 8:58 of the second period. The difference is that the Canadiens struck for the winner only 58 seconds after the Blueshirts had tied it.

That represented the fourth time Lundqvist had been pulled from a playoff match. Two nights later, the King shut out the Canadiens 1-0 at the Garden to send the Blueshirts to the Cup final. He had responded similarly earlier in the tournament, pulled from the first-round potential clinching Game 6 in Philadelphia only to record a 2-1 victory at home in the next night’s Game 7.

Igor Shesterkin during Game 2. Corey Sipkin

Shesterkin entered Saturday’s match having stopped 118 of 124 shots for a .952 save percentage in gaining the split at home. He seemed a bit flustered on Saturday, unable to hold back the Pittsburgh tidal wave that engulfed the New York defensive effort. He had some trouble finding pucks through traffic. He never had a moment to breathe. He left the game with a series save percentage of .928.

The 26-year-old is facing uncharted territory here in hostile territory. Lundqvist generally bounced back. It was on his successor to do the same in Game 4.

We recalled the similarity to Montreal and Game 6. There is, however, another precedent to cite. That would be from the 2016 first round in which the Penguins split the opening two games despite having to go with third-string goaltender Jeff Zatkoff. They had a 2-1 lead in the series before chasing Lundqvist early in the second period of a Game 4, 5-0 rout.

The response this time? Ignominy. Two days later, the Swede was pulled again, this time after 40:00, in a 6-3 defeat that doomed the season.

In other words, never mind.